NGC, Methanex sign gas-supply agreement

The National Gas Company of Ttinidad and Tobago Ltd (NGC) has signed a new gas sales contract (GSC) with Methanex Trinidad Ltd (Methanex) – the largest producer and supplier of methanol – for the supply of gas to the Titan methanol plant on the Point Lisas Industrial Estate.

The agreement was signed on October 12 at the Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre.

NGC said in a release this GSC marks the successful conclusion of many months of negotiation and will allow the resumption of operations at the world-scale Titan plant, which was idled during the pandemic.

“Given Titan’s methanol production capacity of 875,000 metric tonnes per annum, the 2024 scheduled restart of the plant is good news for TT,” NGC said.

NGC president Mark Loquan said, “We have been working tirelessly with our stakeholders across the value chain to secure gas supply and satisfy demand, against the backdrop of maturing energy reserves and an evolving market. Throughout the process, our goal has always been to maximise value for all players in this challenging environment while seeking the interest of TT.”

He added that with this GSC, NGC has managed to align and achieve those objectives.

Methanex president and CEO Rich Sumner thanked NGC for its professionalism during the negotiations and reaffirmed its commitment to working with NGC to secure an economic long-term gas supply.

“I am proud of our team’s effort to reach an agreement with the NGC that allows us to preserve this strategic location in our global portfolio and maintain a world-class team,” Sumner said.

Methanex has announced its intention to idle the operations of its Atlas methanol plant in September 2024 on the basis of economic considerations.

The timeframe for idling the plant coincides with the expiration of its current natural-gas contract.